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exactly what dan said, you want the smallest fire you can get (some just use 1, 2 or 3 briquettes) and you want that fire as far away from the cheese as possible, but you want the cheese in the line of the smoke.
i use a little chief for smoking cheese - they have a "cool-box" technique that works great.
You want a fire that will burn clean and produce smoke but not a large enough fire that it will generate a lot of heat. I did a cheese smoke not too long ago. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=74843
There is a pic in there of the fire. Just like what was mentioned, you are imparting smoke flavor but not cooking/melting the cheese. Give it a shot. I made smokey nachos out of the pepperjack and made a pizza with the smoked mozzerella. I just snacked on the colby and the cheddar. It was good stuff.
In my GOSM, I turn the gas off & use about 3-4 pieces of lump. Lean a couple chunks against the lump to produce smoke. Keep a careful eye on the temps...My usually peaks at 90* and then goes down from there.
in my opinion, the little and big chief smokehouses are perfect for smoking cheese because of their relatively now heat out put. when using the "cool box technique (described in the instructions) they work perfectly for smoking cheese and other things that require low heat. i also use mine for fish and have had excellent reults. i've tried jerky, sausages etc. and have done well with these as well - i haven't tried much with bigger or different types of meats, yet ~
here's a downloadable .pdf document that you can click on and save to your computer (and also print out):
read those and if you have any specific questions, let me know ~ as far as i am concered, a person can get a lot of use out of the "chief" smokers if they use them as designed and do not try to use them for hot smoking or smoke cooking, which is something different.